Getting Around Kanazawa

Kanazawa is compact and easy to navigate. The historic districts are spread across the center but close together, and a simple mix of the tourist loop bus and walking covers almost everything. Here is what works for most visitors.

Getting to Kanazawa

The Hokuriku Shinkansen connects Tokyo to Kanazawa in about 2.5 hours, while the Thunderbird limited express links Kyoto and Osaka in roughly 2 to 2.5 hours. You arrive at the architecturally stunning Kanazawa Station, the hub for all city transport, fronted by the wooden Tsuzumi-mon drum gate.

The Kanazawa Loop Bus

The city's most useful tool for visitors is the Kanazawa Loop Bus, which circles the main sights from the station, Kenrokuen, the castle, the Nagamachi samurai district, Omicho Market, and the Higashi Chaya geisha district. It runs in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions, so you can travel whichever way is shorter, and a one-day pass pays off quickly. The separate Kenrokuen Shuttle also links the station directly to the garden.

IC cards and local buses

A rechargeable IC card (ICOCA or Suica) works as tap-to-pay on local Hokutetsu buses and is the simplest way to ride. Regular city buses also fan out from the station if your destination is off the loop route. Carry some cash too, as smaller shops and market stalls are often cash-only.

Taxis and cycling

Taxis are clean, metered, and handy at night, after the loop bus stops, or with luggage; short hops across the center are reasonable shared between two or three people. Kanazawa is also fairly flat, and the Machi-nori public bicycle-share scheme has docking ports near the main sights, a pleasant way to link the riverside districts in good weather.

When to just walk

Within the cultural core (Kenrokuen, the castle, and the museums) and within each historic district, walking is the best option, the distances are short and the streets are part of the attraction. Save the bus for jumping between the station, the samurai quarter, and the geisha districts.